Farewell reception of Russian CG

Karachi: The Consul General Of Russia Dr. Andrey V. Demidova and his wife Tatana, hosted a reception to bid farewell to their colleagues and friends among the elite, the business community and media and press of Karachi as they prepare to return home to Moscow after completing a successful tenure of three years posting in Karachi, to handle diplomatic matters in Sindh and Baluchistan.

For Dr. Demidov the three years in Pakistan surely must be a memorable experience. His term in office has been well spent in promoting people to people relation between Pakistan and Russia, and in facilitating development of trade and business between the two countries. The volume of trade increased remarkably from US $70 million in 2007 to US $612 million in 2012.

However this is but the tip of the iceberg and not even near to the optimum capacity, he stated. He has often said that energy starved Pakistan could count on Russia for assistance in setting up power generation plants, explore and exploit offshore oil and gas reserves and gas and oil supply from central Russian states.

Export of farm fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables to Russia has become a reality all through the untiring efforts of the farming sector in collaboration with researchers and export houses to find ways to maintain freshness and shelf life of the sensitive perishables.

He has also been successful in capturing the attention of the industrial community with the suggestion that the Pakistan Steel Mills needs to be refurbished, modernised and revitalised to meet the demands of economic growth and has assured that Russia would be willing to forward all technical assistance.

Mrs. Tatanya Demidov expressing her views on Pakistan when asked, said it had been a great opportunity to learn about the history of the Pakistan region, about the people and their culture at first hand. She said she was carrying home some pleasant memories of lovely places, Pakistani peoples’ friendliness and hospitality.

The reception was attended by those of the diplomatic corps present in Karachi.

Speaking to the gathering Dr. Demidov said he would miss all his friends and colleagues in Pakistan and the sentiment was sincerely reciprocated by all present.